The passive
Use the passive to put the focus on an action, rather than who did the action.
The passive is formed with be (any tense) + past participle.
The crime was committed early in the morning.
The murder weapon has been found.
The murderer will be brought to justice.
To include who did the action, use the preposition by.
The burglar was arrested by the police.
Note: Newspapers often use the passive to report crime stories.
Past Perfect and Past Perfect Progressive
We use the past perfect to talk about an activity or event that was completed before
another activity or event in the past.
Reiko had forgotten to lock the door before she left the house.
The criminal had already escaped by the time the police arrived.
We use the past perfect progressive when the activity was in progress at the time another
activity or event happened in the past.
Juan had been getting cash from the ATM when he was mugged.
The driver had been swerving between lanes when the police officer stopped him.
Form, Meaning and Function
Simple Past Tense: Be
How were the burglars caught? There were security cameras everywhere.
Was the pickpocket sorry for his crime? Yes, he was. He apologized to the victim.
Simple Past Tense: Regular and Irregular Verbs
What did the police do? They arrested the criminal. They didn’t arrest the man.
Where did they go after they were arrested? They went to police station. They didn’t go to the police station.
Time Expressions for the Past
The armed robber stole a car yesterday. Nathalie forgot to lock the door last night.
The burglar went to jail in 2006. I went to Oman three years ago.
The Past with Used to and Would
We use used to + be to talk about past states that are no longer true:
Q: What did you use to be afraid of when you were younger?
A: I used to be afraid of elevators. I always took the stairs instead.
We use used to + verb and would + verb to talk about past habits that are no longer true:
Q: Did you use to travel a lot in your job?
A: Yes, I used to (would) travel to a new place every year. I didn’t use to like it much and now I prefer to stay in
one place.
Past Progressive
We use the past progressive when we describe what was happening at a specific time in the past.
Q: What were you doing at three o’clock today? A: I was driving home from work.
We use the past progressive when we talk about a temporary state or action.
Q: Have you always lived in Riyadh? A: No. A few years ago, I was living in Dubai.
Q: What were you doing in Dubai? A: I was working at a hotel.
We use the past progressive with always to describe a repeated or annoying action.
My neighbor’s son was always getting into trouble when he was younger.
We use the past progressive to describe a long action that is interrupted by a short action.
I was working on my computer when suddenly the power went out.
We use the past progressive to describe two actions that were happening at the same time.
While I was studying, my brother was watching TV.
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